A healthy diet and nutrition plan is the first step to turning okay health into great health. Leading a healthy life is not an easy task. It needs commitment, set goals, and consistency. It involves subscribing to a daily programme that might incorporate dieting, working out and even consuming supplements responsibly.
All this, however, needs guidance from a health expert as not all diets and supplements are good for the general health of people. In addition to this, very few people find enough time to work out or seek advice on the appropriate diet. Thus, people end up searching the internet for the most effective and popular diets with the hopes that the exercises, diets, and supplements will work out for them.
There is so much more to leading a healthy life than meets the eye. The fact is that our body shapes should determine our nutrition and fitness training. This read aims at outlining the concept of dieting and nutrition with a bid to help the reader conform to a healthy lifestyle.
This article unpacks the concept of fitness.
It lays out the basic guidelines and tips on how to handle your fitness regimen.
It lays out a diet and nutrition concept.
We will take a look at what nutrition and dieting entail. We will then proceed to identify and shed light on the importance of water in the diet. Most people tend to overlook or ignore its importance, which affects their nutrition and dieting plan.
We will also be taking a look at supplements. Some people incorporate the use of supplements into their diet to help them attain the nutrients that are not present in their diet. This is definitely a must-read for beginners who are joining the fitness club.
Keeping with the Theme of Fitness
Starting a workout programme is not always as easy as it sounds. Work out routines and plans have to conform to so many factors that are person specific. Factors such as gender, age, free time, body goals, and even the general biological state of an individual come into play.
A test study conducted by Doctor Jamie Timmons of the Loughborough University shows that some people are genetically not disposed to be adaptable to exercises. His study shows that one in six people are not able to get results after working out with the same effort and commitment as other people. If you don’t find yourself seeing the changes as quickly as you would like, make sure you give your body enough time to adapt. Do not, whatever you do, lose heart and give up. You can also read up on our article on how to see faster progress to help you.
Work out regimens generally depend on self-motivation. You are the only person who has an idea of what is good for you. Patience is essential. Your body might take a while to respond and adapt to your new lifestyle.
You are at liberty to learn about these exercising plans in the comfort of your home through online articles, tutorials, and even training applications. The first step to figuring out the best plan is to set up short-term and long-term goals and the practicalities you have to work around.
What are your goals?
Before enlisting to a specific workout plan, it is essential to have a set body goal. What is it you want to do? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to tone up? Do you want to strengthen your body or do you just want to become healthier and fitter overall? Working out what you want will help ascertain the best way to achieve your goals.
How much time do you have to work out?
This will depend on how much free time you have and the time of the day that you find yourself most productive. You will have to put into perspective the number of hours or minutes you are willing to cash in to achieve your set body goal. It is essential to note that the more time put into the work out the greater the results.
Alternatively, you could seek the aid of a fitness coach or personal trainer who can fit into your busy schedule. There are numerous personal training companies and individuals who could help you work out effectively at your own time to help you achieve your body goals. You could incorporate small exercises into your work routine such as reducing the amount of time you spend sated and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
What is best for you?
A doctor and or gym instructor should guide you in both your dietary and physical fitness plans. Rather than undertaking a short term crash diet which will not have any long term benefits it is better to undergo a complete change in perspective when it comes to eating well in general.
Exercises range from yoga, aerobics, low impact workouts or strength training among others. What suits your body best is very dependent on the body goals and the focal points of the workouts as well as your general fitness to begin with. If you have any medical conditions you will also have to take these into account. It is always prudent to seek advice from your GP or other health professional before beginning any kind of diet or fitness plan.
Include breaks
Knowing the amount of break time between each set helps to keep a good consistent workout flow. It also prevents an extended break that might lead to a decrease in motivation, thus less productivity.
As well as rest breaks between sets do not forget to include whole rest days too. Rest days are vital in allowing your body to recover from a workout, making you ready to tackle the next one.
Keep a record of workouts
Keeping a journal of your workout is quite motivating. It aids in promoting motivation, as you will have a record of your journey and success.
Exercising takes a lot of endurance and energy, especially for those who aim at building muscle or losing weight. However, fitness solely will not help you get in shape. A good healthy diet should supplement your daily workout routine.
The Theme of Dieting and Nutrition
Dieting involves food consumption and its limitation to a certain quality and type of food, with respect to the benefit it brings to the body. Dieting is not specific to athletes or fitness enthusiasts; it is a recommended lifestyle for all by doctors and nutritionists. The main aim of dieting is to prolong and boost body health by boosting the immune system with both macro and micronutrients.
“You are what you eat”
Healthy eating influences all aspects of your life. Losing weight starts with changing dietary requirements, and so does keeping fit. Watch whatever you put into your system. Most people find eating healthy to be an added expense since fast foods are cheaper in comparison to the healthy ones. Nevertheless, there are numerous tips to holistically aid in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Apart from this, there are many diets to choose. Some of the most common ones include the following:
Vegetarian or vegan diet
Low-fat diet
Low carbohydrate diet
Detoxifying diet
Fasting – Most people tend to confuse and include this as a form of diet plan. The concept of fasting is not similar to that of dieting. Fasting involves the restriction of food consumption for a period.
The six essential nutrients that need to be in your diet
There are six essential nutrients that need to be included in a balanced diet. These are:
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide energy to the body systems that belong in this category include whole grains, fruits, sugars, starchy vegetables, and bread.
Protein
Protein helps the body repair and builds tissues. It also plays a part in the structural component of the human cells. Foods in this category include eggs, beans, dairy, and low-fat meat, among other foods.
Fat
This is a source of energy for the body systems and their functions. In addition to this, it aids in the absorption of a class of vitamins known as fat-soluble vitamins. They include vitamins A, D, E, and K. foods in this class include walnuts, fish, nuts, avocado, seeds, and vegetable oils.
Vitamins
There are numerous vitamins all aiding the body in performing different functions. For example, vitamin D helps the body maintain its calcium levels and a good source of this vitamin is the sun. Another example is vitamin C, which helps the body synthesise collagen. Sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, peppers, and berries.
Minerals
Just like the vitamin class of nutrients; this class has a long list of minerals, which help the body perform different functions. A good example is the potassium mineral, which aids in the prevention of high blood pressure and maintains the volume of fluid around and within the cells. Sources of foods with potassium include tomatoes, potatoes, and bananas, among others.
Top Tips to Leading a Healthy Lifestyle
The following three main dieting tips will raise your chances of leading a healthy lifestyle. They include:
Planning Meals
Ensuring that you have a definite meal plan will help you know what to purchase and reduce the possibility of settling for fast food. If you allow your stomach to do the choosing for you in this state, no meal idea will be near a nutrition and healthy eating regimen. Focus on the quality of the food rather than counting the calories. This was proved more beneficial through a research study conducted by the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. The same facts were also outlined in Mozaffarian, D.’s book study titled Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men.
Get rid of the negative eating habits
Maintaining good habits will increase the possibility of keeping up with your meal plan. Do not purcahse unhealthy foods if you find them too tempting to avoid and stop picking away at the odd mouthful here and there. After all, you are what you eat!
Create mind distractions if you had already developed an eating addiction
If you find yourself reaching for the biscuit tin when bored, upset or angry, re-train yourself to do something else instead. Go for a walk, take up a hobby to keep your mind and body busy. This will prevent you from relapsing to the unhealthy eating habits.
However, dieting solely will not help you achieve maximum health. Dieting needs to be supplemented by other activities and concepts in order to build up to a high health quality. Fitness, detoxing, and supplements need to accompany dieting.
Importance of Water in the Diet
The statement “water is life” plays a part in human health. Water not only improves health, but it also has a huge impact on your survival. Water takes up more than two-thirds of the human body weight and about seventy-one percent of the earth’s surfaces are comprised of it. Water is available fresh and on tap so you have no excuse for not drinking a minimum of a glass or two of water in a day.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) outlines that an average male needs to consume about three litres of water daily. On the other hand, they estimate an average woman to consume about two point two litres of water daily. The following are some of the tips you should inculcate into your dieting and fitness regime with respect to water.
With hot weather comes an issue of dehydration. Even without the hot weather, fitness enthusiasts are prone to dehydration. The key mode of preventing dehydration is ensuring that your daily water intake is not determined by your level of thirst.
Drink as much water as you can when you can, and be sure to monitor your intake. Your body emits a lot of fluid through sweating, among other ways. You owe a duty to your body to replace the water it loses.
Dehydration occurs when this is not balanced. If the body loses more water than it takes in then you are bound to suffer from severe dehydration. Ensure you stay hydrated during exercise, hot weather, or daily activities. Make sure you always carry a bottle of water as you go about your daily activities. This will prevent you from becoming dehydrated.
Water can be substituted with other fluids. However, this is not advised. Fluids like fruit and vegetable juices, clear soups, and herbal teas are also good sources of fluids for the body. Drinking water before a meal provides a satiating feeling that will help you maintain your diet plan and prevent you from over-consumption of caloric foods. Barbara Rolls ascertains this in her book “The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan”.
Avoid alcohol. It is a diuretic, which means that it helps in the discharge of water from the body and this can lead to chronic dehydration. Other drinks of this nature are caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea, and colas. Moderate consumption, however, is usually fine so there is no need to go giving up your daily caffeine fix or evening glass of red right away!
Dietary Supplements: Are they important?
Supplements aim at enriching the body with nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, botanicals, enzymes not obtained from the natural sources. They come in various forms from powder to tablets, energy bars, and even drinks. Herbs like garlic are also examples of used supplements.
Supplements have been mistaken as food substitutes from time to time; however, this is not right. They are to be used in conjunction with a balanced diet and not as a substitute for it. Each supplement comes with a variety of nutrients that are in different amounts. Pay attention to the nutrients panel on the supplement can. This aids in knowing the exact nutrients that are essential per serving.
It is important to check each listed ingredient and nutrient on the nutrient panel. This is because some supplements bring about side effects that can lead to serious health problems, especially if mixed with some prescription drugs. Ensure your medical physician has knowledge of your supplement consumption. They are also not advisable for nursing and expectant mothers, or people with eating disorders so if in any doubt at all do seek medical opinion first.
Supplements have become more accessible in this age, in turn increasing the chances of people purchasing them over the counter as they buy groceries. The “Supplements who needs them?” report of 2011 shows a study conducted by the National Health Service in 2009. This study shows that the dietary supplement market in the United Kingdom was worth about six hundred and seventy pounds, with Multivitamins taking up thirteen percent of the respondents. The main classification of dietary supplements includes the following:
Vitamin supplements
Weight-loss supplements
Supplements for colds – They contain zinc and vitamin C, among other nutrients and minerals.
Ageing supplements – They provide nutrients to the elderly. They include Glucosamine, Ginseng, Ginkgo
Fish oils- They contain Omega-3 and are classified into two categories, which are adult and children fish oil supplements.
Bodybuilding supplements- This class is common with people who aim at building their muscle as they work with weights during their exercise regimes. Check out our post ‘The 5 Best Fitness Supplements That Really Make A Difference’ to find out more about these.
To wrap up, we recommend that before you start any fitness or dieting plan, you make sure that you consult a specialist. This could be your doctor or nutritionist. This expert will help you determine whatever works for your body and health and will also be able to advise you of any risks or recommendations which might affect your personal medical history or health.
Following the information laid out in this diet and nutrition guide are just the first steps to leading a healthy lifestyle.
Remember, getting started is always the hardest bit but with a little determination and the first steps behind you, the road to good health will soon become easier!
Sources:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/best-diet-quality-counts/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/the-importance-of-water-in-your-diet-plan.aspx
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/avoiding-dehydration
http://www.yourstandardlife.com/archives/4-Importance-of-Water-to-Lead-a-Health-Life.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290814.php
https://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/05May/Documents/BtH_supplements.pdf
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